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horrible noises in rear

9K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  nwb300 
#1 ·
my '02 WJ 4.0L is about to hit 140k miles and has never really had much replaced in the suspension. I started hearing a noise that sounded like a blown shock. it was like a grinding/creaking/squeaking all in one whenever I would hit bigger bumps. I looked and sure enough, the driver side rear shock was leaking badly so I replaced both rear shocks (just with cheap Gabriel shocks for now, I'm putting Skyjackers in when I get my tax return). after I did this I pulled it out of the shop and the noise immediately got worse and more noticable.

I'm quite sure it's the ball joint in the upper control arm, and I have a new one to install on monday. I know the bushings need replacing as well, so I'm piecing things together now. I bought complete new lower control arms with bushings in them, and I bought the bushings for the upper control arm (because the whole arm is ****ing EXPENSIVE, wow). so before I rip apart the back of my WJ to install all of this, is there anything else that I may need to replace? I feel like I've got all of the bushings covered but if there's anything else that could be making noise I want it to die.

thanks for any and all advice.
 
#3 ·
I have the same problem with my rear a-arm. They are not that expensive (140 for the a-arm and ball joint) but i don't know what you consider expensive. I have a lifted jeep so the angle is more severe so i'm putting on a IROR ($300:eek:) a-arm on wednesday. As cheapjeep suggested I would replace the sway bar bushings while your back there. Also, if your doing it yourself be careful when pressing in the ball joint....they can be a pain in the @ss.
 
#8 ·
the price I got was like $400 for the the whole arm with bushings and the ball joint. I thought that seemed way steep but I never looked into it much. I work at a Ford dealership and have access to lifts, axle jacks, a press and everything to make getting the arm out as simple as possible so I'm hoping it won't be too horrible.

I would recommend getting the whole a arm. I just did the bushings and without a proper press they were a
Pain to remove and install. Be patient with the job there isn't much clearance under the jeep but its not too bad a job. The ball joint was fairly easy but after removing it the diff sags a bit so you need to use a jack to get it back in position for reasembly. Good luck let us know how it turns out!
as I said I'm hoping they won't be too horrible since I've got all of the proper equipment.... I've got my fingers crossed

Phew...I was afraid of what I might find with this thread. I thought it was something you ate. lol
lol, I save my bowel movement descriptions for the pricks on the Subaru forums. :D

My Overland was making similar noises to that. I was scratching my head because everything appeared fine in the suspension, but when it started making the noise all the time I started investigating the driveline. Turned out I had a bad u-joint on the rear driveshaft. Why it only made noise on bumps at first is beyond me, but after I changed it out it's all quite again. May not be the same as yours, but worth a look. U-joints are relatively cheap and since you've got 140k they probably need replaced anyway. Just my 2 cents tho.
I had thought about that, I think I'm probably going to grab some new ones and do those while I'm at it.

With a press, changing the bushing on the rear upper control arm is easy. If you buy a new ball joint and two bushings, it's like $50 vs $140 for a whole new arm. While I had my old a-arm out I sandblasted it and painted it w/ some of that rubberized undercoating.

If you don't have your own press and you have an extra vehicle, I would imagine there's a shop around that would only charge ~$20 to press out the old and in the new. Take it to them and get it done. It would be cheaper than a whole new arm.
painting it isn't a bad idea either.. I may have to work that into the schedule. I really want to only take all of this shit apart once lol.
 
#4 ·
I would recommend getting the whole a arm. I just did the bushings and without a proper press they were a
Pain to remove and install. Be patient with the job there isn't much clearance under the jeep but its not too bad a job. The ball joint was fairly easy but after removing it the diff sags a bit so you need to use a jack to get it back in position for reasembly. Good luck let us know how it turns out!
 
#6 ·
My Overland was making similar noises to that. I was scratching my head because everything appeared fine in the suspension, but when it started making the noise all the time I started investigating the driveline. Turned out I had a bad u-joint on the rear driveshaft. Why it only made noise on bumps at first is beyond me, but after I changed it out it's all quite again. May not be the same as yours, but worth a look. U-joints are relatively cheap and since you've got 140k they probably need replaced anyway. Just my 2 cents tho.
 
#7 ·
With a press, changing the bushing on the rear upper control arm is easy. If you buy a new ball joint and two bushings, it's like $50 vs $140 for a whole new arm. While I had my old a-arm out I sandblasted it and painted it w/ some of that rubberized undercoating.

If you don't have your own press and you have an extra vehicle, I would imagine there's a shop around that would only charge ~$20 to press out the old and in the new. Take it to them and get it done. It would be cheaper than a whole new arm.
 
#9 ·
If you do decide to go with a whole new A-arm you can go to teamgrandcherokee.com and get them both for $140. There are other sites out there that are around the same price too. Ultimately its up to what you want and feel like spending. Good luck either way.
 
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